Coastal Environmental Science Gets Up Close and Personal

By Christine Wendling

Exciting new field, method, and study abroad courses in the LSU College of the Coast & Environment (CC&E) are providing students with critical hands-on training for their future careers. Tracy Quirk, assistant professor (and soon-to-be associate professor) in the LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, is leading the charge in creating immersive experiences that generate enthusiasm among students while also training them to meet future workforce needs.

Quirk is an expert in marshes and wetlands whose research informs policy holders, managers, and scientists of the effects of using sediment diversions as a restoration tool and could contribute to sediment diversions projects in the future. She studies factors influencing subsurface wetland dynamics in coastal Louisiana, which has implications for wetland response to sea-level rise and restoration. As a result, her research and experience as the head of CC&E’s Wetland Plant Ecology Lab is primarily field-oriented, so she felt that adding full-time field courses would actively and realistically engage students in their course content.

“I think that seeing things in the field and discovery and experiential learning is how students can truly understand things. And, it clinches their desire to stay in the field and hone their interests,” she said.

In 2016, just two years after she first came to the university, she established her first immersive field course, “Wetland Field Experience: Everglades, Mangroves, and Seagrasses” (OCS 4006). In the two-week course, students are exposed to the Everglades, mangroves, and seagrass beds of south Florida where they are steeped in the real-world applications of plant ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and wetland management. In that environment, they are responsible for accurately identifying diverse plant and animal species while kayaking through the sawgrass marshes and mangroves and participating in wetland research and restoration activities.

“On this trip, we talk to people who are actively managing these systems and actively working there. So, it gives students opportunities to see potential career paths and how they can apply what they learned in class to a day-to-day job. It’s helpful for students in terms of thinking about their future,” Quirk said.  

Additionally, Quirk co-teaches “Introduction to Marine Science: Field and Laboratory Methods" (OCS 2020) with Associate Professor Kanchan Maiti, incorporating learning experiences in a multiplicity of labs within CC&E. In this way, students gain a thorough understanding of sample collection, sample processing, analytical methods, and the cutting-edge instrumentation commonly used in marine sciences, as well as techniques and field procedures relevant to biological, chemical, physical, and geological oceanographers.

“In terms of the process of developing hypotheses and testing those hypotheses and thinking about experimental design and analyzing data—that whole process—I really enjoy that. Mentorship and teaching field courses are definitely what I like most,” she said.

Most recently, in 2019, she developed a study abroad class in an even more exotic locale, “Ecology of the Galapagos islands" (OCS 4007), with Dan Holstein, an assistant professor in her department. For several weeks in the summer, students learn firsthand about the South American archipelago’s environment. The Galapagos Islands are teeming with unique plants and animals famously studied by Charles Darwin and are considered the birthplace of modern evolutionary theory.

“Going to the Galapagos brings the concepts our students learn in the classroom—such as extinction, colonization and adaptation—to life. All of those major fundamental concepts are very real in the Galapagos,” Quirk said.

And, there will be even more Galapagos field courses happening in the future. Quirk has since passed the reins to Holstein, whose goal, in collaboration with the LSU Department of Biological Sciences, is to expand the trip and include courses on evolution and ecology. This would offer students a longer, more in-depth program with visits to five of the Galapagos Islands.

In addition to teaching field courses, Quirk said her favorite part of her job is mentoring students with their research and helping them develop their scientific skills.

“In terms of the process of developing hypotheses and testing those hypotheses and thinking about experimental design and analyzing data—that whole process—I really enjoy that. Mentorship and teaching the field courses are definitely what I like most,” she said.

Quirk and her colleagues are great examples of the enthusiastic and innovative teaching being offered at the College of the Coast & Environment.

Learn more about these once-in-a-lifetime experiences offered through the college.